ORLANDO, Fla. — What could have been among the Knicks’ ugliest losses this year nearly was transformed into their most magical comeback of the season.
The Knicks overcame an early inept shooting display to put a scare into the Magic in the fourth quarter, but it was too little and too late to avoid a second straight loss on this road trip, 117-108, before a typically boisterous bipartisan crowd at Kia Center.
One game after committing 18 turnovers in a trip-opening loss to the Thunder, the Knicks added 16 more giveaways, while missing 17 of their first 18 attempts from 3-point range — and 24 of 30 overall.
“Shots are not going to fall, but with that being said, it still was a winnable game,” Jalen Brunson said. “There were things we could have done on the defensive side of the ball and still figure out how to impact the game without making our shots.
“It was still possible. The ball’s going to go in some nights and some nights it’s not.”
Brunson endured a rare off-night from the floor, shooting 4-for-15, although he nailed all 12 of his free-throw attempts to finish with 20 points.
For a second straight game, Tom Thibodeau expressed frustration over foul calls he doesn’t believe Brunson has been getting, calling it “ridiculous” and angrily saying he’s “sick of it.”
Julius Randle had a strong overall game with 38 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, albeit with a team-high five turnovers. RJ Barrett started slowly but finished with 19 for the Knicks, who will look to salvage one win on this three-game road trip Saturday night against Tyrese Halliburton, Obi Toppin and the Pacers in Indiana.
“It’s hard, especially on the road, when you start out kind of how we did,” Barrett said. “They kind of took it to us the beginning of the game. … We fought to get back in it, same thing as last game. But they pulled away at the end.”
Franz Wagner led the Magic (19-12) with 32 points and Paulo Banchero registered 29 with 10 rebounds.
Randle netted 16 to help the Knicks carry a 29-26 lead through one.
Still, Immanuel Quickley’s trey was the Knicks’ lone connection from long range on their first 18 tries through the midpoint of the third quarter, and they missed 16 of 18 from the floor overall in the second.
They were held without a field goal for more than seven minutes between Barrett’s layup with 8:33 to play and Randle’s inside hoop with 1:26 to go, and they trailed 55-44 at intermission.
Brunson added another miss to open the third quarter, while Banchero netted five points in a 10-2 run and fed Wagner inside for a 19-point cushion less than three minutes into the period.
Wagner sank a free throw on a technical foul called against Barrett to make it 66-46, though Barrett finally knocked down a trey a few minutes later after the Knicks had started 1-for-18 from beyond the arc.
After Suggs and Quickley exchanged 3-pointers, the Knicks had a chance to close within nine in the closing seconds, but Randle was whistled for traveling to leave them behind 86-74 entering the final period.
The Knicks (17-14) were still down by as many as 14 in the fourth, but a 3-pointer by Quentin Grimes drew them within 10 with 7:09 remaining
Wagner responded with a left-side triple, but Brunson’s lefty scoop drive finally got the Knicks within single digits at 102-93 with 4:44 left. But Brunson was rejected on consecutive drives by Goga Bitadze and Jalen Suggs. Two free throws by Banchero and two more by Wagner replenished the Orlando lead to 10 with under three minutes to go.
The Knicks appeared to close within four on a Randle put-back dunk with 1:02 remaining, but Randle was called for a push that was upheld by replay. After one free throw by Bitadze, Randle shaved the deficit to five with a driving dunk, but the Knicks never got closer.
“The start of the second quarter was a problem,” Thibodeau said. “Then our rebounding wasn’t good enough. High turnovers. We still had a chance at the end, but we couldn’t get a stop late when we needed it.”
